1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to software, and more particularly relates to systems and methods for programmatically determining root causes of problems that occur when operating a personal computer, and providing programmatic resolution and/or rich diagnostic data for users to address those problems.
2. Background and Related Art
Computing technology has transformed the way we work and play. In recent decades and years, computing technology has become quite complex. This complexity enables a computing system to perform a wide variety of high-complexity functions and applications thereby steadily improving the utility of the computing system. On the other hand, such complexity also makes it increasingly difficult for even the most skillful software engineers to develop software which is perfectly compatible and functional in all possible circumstances. Accordingly, even advanced computing systems often experience problems such as crashes, system hangs, or performance degradations.
Currently, it is difficult or impossible to easily diagnose or determine the root cause of many problems in computing systems. The computing system's operating system typically includes some limited mechanism for identifying the presence of a problem in the form of basic error messages. However, the error messages may not provide enough information to those attempting to diagnose and solve the root cause of the problem or to identify the workarounds for avoiding the problem.
Since many different applications and devices can run on an operating system at a given time, and since interoperability between such components can result in complex problems, it is often difficult for the operating system to determine which application, device driver, or configuration is the root cause of the problem that has surfaced. Interoperability can especially result in complex problems where the various interoperating components are provided by different venders. The problems may involve the operating system, applications, or device drivers, but once the problem has surfaced (e.g., via a system crash) it may be too late to provide any information that is useful in solving the problem. This problem is aggravated when the applications or device drivers executing on the operating system do not comply with programming guidelines for the operating system.
Furthermore, even if there is sufficient information with which to diagnose a problem, significant user effort is often needed in order to diagnose the root cause of the problem and provide a resolution. The requirement of significant user effort to diagnose and resolve computing system problems can degrade the user experience in working with the computing system, especially if the user expects fewer problems with the computing system.
Furthermore, many users are not experienced enough to diagnose and resolve computing system problems on their own. Accordingly, they may take actions they hope are corrective, but which may not resolve the problem due to an incorrect diagnosis or resolution of the problem. Such actions may actually further degrade the performance or stability of the computing system. Users may also solicit the help of others to diagnose and resolve the problem thereby incurring unnecessary costs in time or money on the user or the party that assists in resolving the problem.
For these reasons, a system and method that enables an operating system to better determine the root cause of computing system problems would be advantageous. Furthermore, a system and method that provides a programmatic means for addressing identified problems would be advantageous.